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1816IIHF News from www.iifh.comTYPO3 - get.content.righthttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssFri, 31 Jul 2015 11:59:00 +0200Seven for seventhhttp://www.iihf.com/competition/292/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=6703
U18: Americans blast Sweden 7-0, claim seventh U18 championship Sweden – United States (0-1, 0-3, 0-3)
BRNO – USA Hockey is going to have to clear out some more room in the U18 trophy case. The Americans romped over Sweden Sunday evening 7-0, winning their fourth straight world championship and seventh overall to further cement the States’ dominance at the U18 level.
Mental mistakes for Sweden in the second period led to three key goals for the Americans and buried the Swedes’ gold medal chances. The United States defence shut down the potent Swedish offence through three periods, in the process setting an IIHF U18 world championship record of only four goals allowed throughout the entire tournament.

“Things turned for us in the second period," said USA coach Danton Cole. "We were able to get a good forecheck going and forced them into making a few mistakes that we were able to capitalize on and I think that turned the game for us. I though our guys did a great job, they played hard and skated very physical.”

While Sweden opened the frame with good pressure on Olson, one bad giveaway in their own zone led to a breakaway goal from Daniel O’Regan to make it 2-0.
Five minutes later, Nicolas Kerdiles sent a pass to JT Compher at centre ice, triggering a two-on-one for the States. Compher kept the puck and shot it under the arm of Swedish goaltender Oscar Dansk for the 3-0 lead. The goal prompted Sweden’s coach Rikard Gronborg to pull Dansk in favour of backup goaltender Marcus Hogberg.
While the Swedes committed costly mistakes in their own end, the Americans remained steady in their defensive zone and opportunistic on offence. With the score 3-0 and three minutes remaining in the second period, Sweden had a chance to shift the momentum when U.S. defenceman Brady Skej was called for holding. But their power play lasted a total of four seconds, as Jacob de la Rose was caught on a tripping call to eliminate Sweden’s advantage.
On the ensuing four-on-four, Swedish defenceman Christian Djoos crossed his own blue line, but inexplicably passed it back to the middle of the ice. No one was there to pick it up for Sweden, and Kerdiles jumped on the puck and beat Hogberg with a forehand deke to give the U.S. a commanding 4-1 lead.

"The guys tried to do a little bit too much in the second and the other team took advantage of that," said Gronborg. "The U.S. played a perfect game, they scored on the opportunities that they had and it was the difference.”

Ryan Hartman, Connor Carrick, and Kerdiles each added a goal following the second intermission to complete the 7-0 rout, and the U.S. coasted the rest of the way until the final whistle gave the team its fourth straight IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship gold medal and record tenth medal in the tournament. The margin of victory is the second highest in the U18 gold medal game after Canada's 8-0 win over Russia in 2008, and gives further testament to the success of the U.S. National Team Development Program.

“Yeah it is,” said USA captain Seth Jones when asked if this year’s win was sweeter than when he won the gold in 2011. “I’ve been with this group of guys for two years and it’s incredible to win this one. At the National Team Development Program we focus on strength building and physical development and I can’t tell you how far I’ve come personally through the program and how far the team has come through this program.”

Both teams came out fast and furious in the opening period, with end-to-end action and quick transitions throughout the frame. Sweden looked to take advantage of two penalties by the U.S., but on the second power play defenceman Calle Andersson took a shot from the point by was blocked by the US point man. The puck came out of the zone just as Ryan Hartman came out of the penalty box. Hartman was initially stopped by Dansk, but the Swedish goaltender could not get a handle on the rebound, and with two U.S. players jamming at it the puck was accidentally kicked in by a teammate and slipped past Dansk and into the net for the first goal of the game, with the credit going to Thomas DiPauli.
As the clock wound down to zero in the third, the Americans mobbed Olson to celebrate their gold medal victory. Olson was chosen as the Best Goaltender by the tournament directorate, while Swedish captain Filip Forsberg was selected as top forward and Canada’s Matt Dumba as top defenceman.

Olson recorded his third shutout of the tournament, tying Jack Campbell's record set in 2010.

“It started with the goaltending,” said USA captain Seth Jones. “Olson and Rutledge were outstanding, allowing four goals total in the whole tournament, that’s unheard of. They really set the tempo and the defence came behind them.”

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ADAM STEISS]]>on top20 United States18 Sweden2012 WM18on topWorldsU18on lefton rightSun, 22 Apr 2012 18:14:00 +0200Canada wins bronze in OThttp://www.iihf.com/competition/292/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=6702
U18: Shinkaruk gives Canada first U18 medal in four yearsFinland – Canada 4-5 (0-2, 3-2, 1-0, 0-1)
BRNO – Canada gave up a 4-1 second period lead to the Finns, but managed to come through in overtime to win its first U18 medal in four years.
Just over two minutes into the extra period, Scott Laughton found a streaking Hunter Shinkaruk down the left side of the boards. Shinkaruk beat defenceman Esa Lindell and cut to the net, bringing the puck past goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and slotting it home for the bronze-medal-winning goal.

“It was a good day," said a smiling Shinkaruk, who also had a hat trick in the game. "Laughton made a great pass to me, I had some speed and managed to beat the defenceman wide and the goalie and tuck it in. Right when I knew I had the goalie I got a big smile on my face and I couldn’t wait to celebrate with my teammates."

Down 4-3 in the third period, Finland equalized nine minutes in with a power play goal from Rasmus Ristolainen. Canadian goaltender Matt Murray looked to have a handle on the shot, but the puck bounced off and into the net for the tying goal. Murray managed to redeem himself with under a minute left in regulation, saving what looked like a sure goal from Henri Ikonen off a rebound to send the game into overtime.

“Canada was a very strong team individually,” said Finland head coach Jussi Tapola. “That was the difference in overtime.”

The Finns came on stronger as the game progressed. Canada’s 2-0 advantage after the first period was cut to one early in the second thanks to a goal from Henrik Haapala. But following the Finn’s goal, the Canadians responded with a pair of scores, the first coming from Shinkaruk, who batted in a rebound after a faceoff win by Canada in the Finnish zone.
The next goal was scored by Brendan Gaunce, coming with his team short-handed after Josh Morrissey received a 20-minute game misconduct and a five minute major penalty for kneeing on Ristolainen. The major didn’t help things for Finland at first, as Laughton lofted a pass from centre ice to Gaunce, who beat Korpisalo for the short-hander.
But the Finns responded soon after with a power play goal by Artturi Lehkonen with 23 seconds left in Morrissey’s major, and with 45 seconds left to go in the period Henrik Haapala recorded his second goal of the game, scoring off a rebound to trim the Canadian lead to one after his team was initially down 4-1 halfway through the second frame.

But despite giving up the lead twice, thanks to Shinkaruk Canada now has its first medal in four years at the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship.

“We just really tried to stress the importance of this game for them not only from a team perspective but as individuals. Scouts are going to be evaluating these guys no matter what the situation and coming off the tough loss to the U.S. they were gonna look to see who was going to respond from that, that was something we challenged them on.”

Special teams were clicking early for the Canadians, resulting in a pair of power play goals in the first period. After Atte Makinen was called for an interference penalty, Matt Dumba took the puck to the Finnish net and dished it off at the last moment to Shinkaruk for the game’s first goal. On another powerplay three minutes later, Dumba’s point shot was deflected in front of the net by Sam Reinhart to put Canada up 2-0 going into the second period.

“It’s tough that we didn’t win get an opportunity to play in the gold medal game, but we did a great job preparing for this game even though it’s a tough gaem to get up for, and I’m just happy I could contribute and help bring home the medal.”

Matt Dumba’s three points in the game put him at 12 for the tournament, three points clear of runners up Sebastian Collberg and Alexander Wennberg of Sweden. Depending on the performance of both Swedish forwards in tonight’s gold medal game, Dumba could walk away for the 2012 U18 championship as the first defenceman in history to lead the tournament in scoring.

But Canada's captain was quick to deflect any praise after the game, praising instead his team's effort after a tough loss in the semi-finals to the United States.

“It felt like we got stabbed after that semi-final,” said Dumba. “But I’m proud of the way the guys picked themselves up and came out and won a tough game today. I was only successful in this tournament because of the guys around me, if they don’t score I don’t get an assist, so the credit goes to them.”

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ADAM STEISS]]>on top2012 WM18on top03 Canada06 Finlandon lefton leftWorldsU18on rightSun, 22 Apr 2012 13:57:00 +0200Showdown in Brnohttp://www.iihf.com/competition/292/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=6699
U18: Top dogs Sweden and USA set to fight for the gold medal If Sweden wins, it will be a second gold medal for Tre Kronor at a 2012 IIHF championship, to go along with gold won at the U20s in Calgary. But it will also be Sweden’s first ever gold at the men’s U18 level, and will serve as further proof of the nation’s renewed youth hockey program.
It will all come down to Sunday. Get ready Brno.

NOTE: Russia defeated Germany 4-1 in Saturday's placement game. Arseni Khatsei scored a pair of goals and earned Best Player recognition as Russia claimed fifth place in the 2012 U18 world championship, down two spots from its bronze medal finish in 2011. The loss put the Germans into sixth place in the ranking, the same result they earned playing in the top division tournament on home ice in Dresden and Crimmitschau last year.

ADAM STEISS
]]>on top2012 WM18on topWorldsU1818 Sweden20 United Stateson righton lefton rightSat, 21 Apr 2012 16:35:00 +0200Denmark relegated to Div. IAhttp://www.iihf.com/competition/292/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=6694
U18: Game between Danes and Swiss ends in bench-clearing brawlSwitzerland – Denmark 2-1 (1-0, 1-0, 0-1)
With a 2-1 victory over the Danes, Switzerland sent Denmark to the bottom of the relegation round standings and thus down to the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship Division I Group A.
Xeno Busser scored the game-winning goal on the second period and Melvin Nyffeler made 22 of 23 saves in the game.
The Danes did not take the loss very well, as over 200 penalty minutes and several game misconducts and two match penalties were handed out after the game following a mass brawl between the two teams.
Czech Republic – Latvia 7-4 (2-1, 4-1, 1-2)
The Czechs took out their frustrations on what has been a rough tournament for the hosts, defeating Latvia 7-4 in their second game of the relegation round.
Jakub Vrana and Dominik Simon had two goals each, and Matej Zadrazil, Martin Prochazka, and Vojtech Tomecek rounded out the scoring for the Czech Republic.
Despite losing the game, Latvia will remain in the top division next year due to Denmark’s loss to Switzerland in the later game.

BRNO – In a tightly-contested match marked by clean hits and strong physical play, the United States prevailed 2-1 over Canada to set up a third straight rematch against Sweden in the final of the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship.

Kyle Osterberg scored the game-winning goal as the U.S. overcame a spirited effort from the Canadians to set the stage for a potential fourth straight gold medal.

“There’s no greater feeling than getting one up on Canada…there’s really no words to describe it,” said Osterberg after the game.

The Americans defeated Canada 5-3 in their final preliminary round game Tuesday, earning a bye into the semis after finishing the preliminary round first in Group A with an unbeaten record. Canada beat Russia 4-2 in the quarter-finals to earn a rematch with their North American rivals.

As in their first game, the teams came into the third period with the score tied. A big open-ice hit by Canadian captain Matt Dumba on Andrew Copp at the blue line got a loud response from his team bench near the start of the frame, hoping to shift the momentum to the Canadian side. But only minutes later U.S. captain Seth Jones blasted a puck from the high slot area. The shot missed wide of the Canadian net but was picked up by teammate Kyle Osterberg behind the net, who slotted it home on the wraparound for the go-ahead goal.

Down 2-1 and facing elimination, Canada began to play with a sense of urgency, which meant giving up more than a few odd man rushes to the U.S. The Canadians had the best chance to tie at 6:37 when Ryan Hartman was called for interference on a hit against Felix Girard, but the team could not capitalize.

“It was exactly what we expected, a tight game against a great team with a lot of good players,” said Team Canada head coach Jesse Wallin. “I thought their defence did a great job keeping us to the outside and they were tough to forecheck.”

“The last goal was a tough goal to give up,” said Wallin. “We didn’t finish our check in the neutral zone, if we finish that check and eliminate their defenceman then the puck doesn’t end up in our zone, but it’s those little details that are the difference, and they were a little better at the details than us tonight.”

The game started in typical fashion for a Canada-USA match. The Americans tested goaltender Matt Murray early and often and both teams delivered a steady stream of body checks on one another as they battled for puck possession. The United States drew first blood at 10:36 when Matt Lane won the puck along the boards and then dropped a pass down to JT Compher. Compher beat Murray with a shot from the side of the net from a tough angle to score.

The game took a bizarre turn near the end of the period, when U.S. forward Andrew Copp got checked into the netting behind Murray’s goal. Compher’s facemask got caught in the netting, and he had to remove it and go to the bench. In the meantime Canada found itself on an impromptu 5-on-4, and Gemel Smith scored with a long shot from the blue line to tie the game 1-1 going into the first intermission.

"I’ve never had that happen to me before,” said a relieved Copp after the game. “I was panicking and trying to figure out what to do, then I just took it off and left it there and sprinted for the bench. I was hoping they weren’t gonna score but that’s exactly what happened, but fortunately it ended well.”

The U.S. held the puck for most of the second frame but neither team could find the back of the net. Both goaltenders caught a few breaks, first Murray whose crossbar deflected a high shot away from the net, and with Olson who was beaten on a shot that hit the right post and out.

Canadian discipline broke down near the end of the period, with consecutive penalties on Adam Pelech and Felix Girard forcing the penalty killers to be on the ice for the final four minutes. But the team held on and the score remained 1-1 going into the second intermission.

The victory means the three time defending champions will take on Sweden on Sunday for the gold medal. In the last two championship finals, the U.S. beat the Swedes each time to claim gold. Canada will face Finland in the bronze medal game, also on Sunday.

Click here for photos, scores, and stats.

ADAM STEISS]]>on top2012 WM18on top03 Canada20 United StatesWorldsU18on lefton righton leftFri, 20 Apr 2012 21:09:00 +0200Sweden back to the dancehttp://www.iihf.com/competition/292/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=6691
U18: Swedes hope third time's the charm as 7-3 win books finals tripSweden – Finland 7-3 (1-1, 2-2, 4-0) Photos Video
BRNO – The Finns gave the team a run through two periods, but Tre Kronor triumphed once again in the U18 semi-final, booking its spot in the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship gold medal game for the third year in a row.
Sweden’s game-winning goal came in the third period on a point shot from Jesper Pettersson. Tobias Tornqvist took the puck into the Finnish zone and skated around the net before passing it off to Pettersson at the blue line. With two Swedish forwards and a Finnish defenceman in front of the crease, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo never saw the shot as it sailed through players’ legs and into the back of the net.
Two key mistakes following the goal buried Finland’s chance at a comeback. After Artturi Lehkonen was assessed a penalty for interference, defenceman Ville Pokka shot the puck out of the field of play seven seconds later, resulting in a delay of game penalty and a 5-on-3 advantage for Sweden. Swedish captain Filip Forsberg wasted no time on the ensuing power play, getting the puck from Sebastian Collberg near the top of the left circle in the Finnish zone and firing it straight into the top right corner, giving his team the vital two-goal lead with less than ten minutes left in the game.

“We just tried to come out hard, play our game and also to get pucks in deep and forecheck them,” said Forsberg. “And I think we started good and maybe got lucky with a few penalties, but after that we were able to take the game over offensively and get some pucks in the net.”

Forsberg’s goal led to a goaltending change for the Finns, but the team in blue could not produce any more offence. Collberg added two more goals as the clock ran out and Sweden celebrated its third straight trip to the U18 championship will take on the United States for the third year in a row.
The game opened up in the second frame as both teams found their offensive rhythm. First it was Sweden that struck for a pair of goals early. Forsberg stole the puck away from Faane Nutinen behind the Finnish net, and got it out in front to Gustav Possler for the goal just over a minute into the period. Then five minutes later Erik Karlsson crossed the blue line and cut inside before firing a low wristshot that beat goaltender Joonas Korpisalo five-hole for the 3-1 lead.
Finland did not throw in the towel following the two early Swedish goal, thanks in large part to Korpisalo’s efforts to not allow the Swedes to run up the score any further. The Finns finally replied at 9:10 with a score by Lehkonen from the blue line. Then Finland’s defence chipped in with a goal from blueliner Rasmus Ristolainen two minutes later, after Forsberg went to the box on a tripping call. Ristolainen fired a slapshot coming off the point on a one-timer, and Swedish goaltender Oscar Dansk was again beaten with a goal from long-distance and Finland tied the game up at 3-3 going into the final period.
Finland got on the board in the first period thanks to a goal from Lehkonen, coming off of a scrum in front of the Swedish net. After a sloppy start to the game, Sweden tied things up with 3:39 remaining in the period. Possler shot the puck from the side of the net, and the rebound came out to Jacob de la Rose in the high slot, who buried the puck into the top corner past Korpisalo.

“Our coach told us to keep doing what we were doing, have fun and play our game,” said Forsberg. “Even though Sweden is going back to the final, he told us that it is rare to get an opportunity to play at this stage of a tournament such as this one.”

Sweden will now have the chance to overcome two straight years of disappointment in the U18 championship game. The last two years Sweden has lost in the gold medal game, both times to the United States. The Swedes are once again in the hunt for gold and once again, Team America stands in their way.

Game on this Sunday.
Click here for photos, scores, and stats.
ADAM STEISS]]>on top2012 WM18on topon lefton leftWorldsU1806 Finland18 Swedenon rightFri, 20 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0200The next Forsberg?http://www.iihf.com/competition/292/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=6689
U18 captain could be new Swedish superstarBringing World Junior championship gold home to Sweden, for the first time in 31 years, was a surreal experience for the 17-year-old, who was far from assured of making the team in the first place.

“I was visiting a friend and just hanging around when I got a call from [national U20 team coach] Roger Ronnberg, and he said that I was on the team, of course I was so happy to hear that and definitely surprised,” said Forsberg. “But had I played well in an earlier tournament in Finland and I knew that I had a chance.

Forsberg’s experience at the U20 was something the younger Swedish forward won’t soon forget, especially the moment when he took to the ice with his team following Mika Zibanejad’s overtime goal in the championship final.

“It’s hard to describe the feeling, at the time it was hard to believe that we had actually won the gold, it was an amazing feeling to see the puck go it, run out on the ice and throw my equipment up in the air.”

The triumphant return to his country following the tournament included a huge reception in Stockholm and a meeting with Sweden’s royal family. After seeing the hero’s welcome that the Swedish men’s national team received in past years, the last thing Forsberg expected was to receive a similar reception when the juniors returned from Alberta.

“I never dreamed I’d get the chance to meet the royal family and it was a big honour for me to meet them and talk to them,” said Forsberg. “It was interesting to see that they are like regular people, and it was definitely cool to talk hockey with the crown prince.”

Forsberg has come a long way from his hometown of Östervåla, Sweden, a town of about 15,000 people, some 100 kilometres north of Stockholm.

But he came through the junior program of Leksand, one of Sweden’s most popular clubs which currently competes at the senior level in Sweden’s second-tier league. When he was a16-year-old on Leksand’s under-20 team this past season, Forsberg led his squad in scoring with 14 goals and 29 points in 26 games and a plus-19 rating. His performance was good enough to land the teenager a roster spot on the men’s senior team this year.

“It’s funny when you look at a teammate and he’s got a beard that’s just gross (laughs),” said Forsberg. “But I just try to keep playing my game because that’s what got me there. Of course they are bigger and stronger and that’s the biggest difference

At the 2011 U18 championship in Germany, Forsberg put his skills as a strong two-way forward on display on the international stage, putting up six points in six games and not surrendering an even-strength goal when he was on the ice. With Forsberg and U20 teammates Mika Zibanejad and Oscar Klefbom, Sweden made it to the final game but fell to the defending champions United States. Now Forsberg is attempting to return to the championship game, but will have to do so with a new cast of teammates.

“We were very close last year, and I feel we have an even bigger opportunity to win in this year,” said Forsberg. “I don’t feel any personal pressure as long as I do what I need to do every day. I think the teams are pretty similar, Sweden has a lot of good young hockey players and it shows in this team.”

Forsberg’s biggest on-ice, influence, apart from his father Patrik who used to play in Sweden’s second tier league and in Norway’s top league, is former NHLer and Swedish hockey star Peter Forsberg. And no, they’re not related.

“He was a very good player so if I can I want to copy everything from him (laughs) I try to take most from him his offensive hits,” said Forsberg. “He wasn’t the biggest guy but still played pretty tough.”

As for Forsberg’s personal goals, he is aiming to take the same path as his idol.

“Try to be as good as I can possibly be and try to make the NHL,” said Forsberg. “I know it’s a hard road to get there and I have to work every day as hard as I can to reach that goal.”

He is well on his way now. Coming into the 2012 NHL draft, Forsberg is the highest-rated prospect currently playing in Europe, and is a product of a Swedish junior program that has grown in leaps and bounds in recent year.

“I can say that some years ago it was not so good,” said Forsberg. “Then they started a program to improve it and now we are beginning to see the results, it’s great right now and I hope it stays like this.”

BRECLAV – Canada defeated Russia 4-2 in the second quarter-final of the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship. Tight checking and goals by Matt Dumba, Kerby Rychel and Felix Girard propelled the Canadians into a rematch with defending champions United States in the semi-final.

“Everybody was prepared and we were ready to take on a great team,” said defenceman Darnell Nurse. “I think being physical was something we established off the bat and were able to carry it through the game and be successful. When you have a skilled team like that, they can be very dangerous and it’s important to keep them away from the ice.”

Coming out of the second intermission down 3-1 flying and fighting for their playoff lives, the Russians pressed but could not get past Canada’s aggressive checking. Then at 11:50 Gemel Smith got the puck in the Russian zone and took a shot at Andrei Vasilevski. Vasilevski gave up the long rebound to Felix Girard, and Girard put in in to give Canada a commanding 4-1 lead with less than nine minutes to go in the period.
In the final few minutes of the second frame, Canada managed to turn around what had been a quiet period offensively as the team took a grand total of five shots on net. After Gemel Smith’s breakaway shot hit off the post and bounced out, Troy Bourke took the puck into the Russian zone and found Kerby Rychel coming in late on the rush for Canada’s third goal of the game.
While Russia’s offence picked up the pace in the second period, the team scored just once in 15 shots on Matt Murray, coming when Alexei Filippov got enough on the puck while being hauled down by a Canadian defender to get it past the Canadian goaltender. Anton Slepyshev added another late in the third, but it was too little, too late for the Russians.

The rivalry between the two teams came out even before the game as both teams were jawing at each other at centre ice during the warmup and had to be called back by their coaches.

“Yeah we were talking, fortunately for us our bite was louder than our bark,” said Nurse. “Everyone really responded and we backed up our words.”

Canada did a good job keeping the Russians pinned in their own zone and maintaining puck possession through the first period. Matt Dumba opened the scoring with his fifth goal, giving the defenceman a tournament-leading nine points in the championship. Rychel added a second with 2:53 to go in the period as Russia managed only five shots in the frame.

Canada will return to Brno to face the United States in a rematch of Tuesday’s preliminary round final. In their first meeting, the teams were tied going into the third period when the U.S. scored two quick goals to beat Canada 5-3 and win the top seed.

Click here for photos, scores, and stats.

ADAM STEISS]]>on top15 Russia03 Canada2012 WM18on topon leftWorldsU18on lefton rightThu, 19 Apr 2012 21:18:00 +0200Flashy Finns rollhttp://www.iihf.com/competition/292/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=6685
U18: Boys in blue overwhelm Germans, advance to semisFinland – Germany 8-0 (2-0, 4-0, 2-0)
BRECLAV – Finland’s speed and offence proved too much for Germany, as the Finns scored eight unanswered goals to win the first quarter-final of the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship 8-0.
Finland got up 2-0 on the Germans in the first period, with goals coming from Aleksi Mustonen and Teuvo Teravainen. The Finns were able put some early pressure on German goaltender Patrick Klein, leading to Mustonen’s goal at 3:26 into the period. Then halfway through the frame, following a German goal that was waved off, Teravainen scored off of a smooth deke that beat the German defender and allowed him enough space to bring the puck past Klein and slip it into the net for the second goal.

“We knew Germany is a tough team and we came out hard at the start to try and get them down early,” said Teravainen, who finished with three points in the game. “ We were able to skate faster and I think that was the key to the victory.”

The Finns ran away with the game in the second period, taking advantage of multiple miscues from the German defenders to score four more goals, coming from Arturri Lehkonen, Denis Shevyrin, Henrik Haapala, and Henri Ikonen. A goaltending change for Germany in the third period did little to stop the Finland offence, as Teravainen added another only 24 seconds into the frame and Haapala scored once more to make it 8-0.
Finland will now advance to the semi-final for the first time since 2010, also the last time the Finns won a medal (bronze) in a U18 men’s tournament. Germany will compete in the placement game against the loser of the Canada-Russia quarter-final. The Germans will try to improve on their sixth-place finish on home ice in 2011.
Czech Republic – Switzerland 2-4 (0-1, 1-1, 1-2)
ZNOJMO – Switzerland got off to a good start in the relegation round, winning its first game of the tournament 4-2 at the expense of the host country Czech Republic.
Nicola Brandi scored on the power play in the third period to put his team ahead 3-1, and Flavio Schmutz added his second of the game with a short-handed goal on the breakaway. Goaltender Melvin Nyffeler held the Czechs to two goals on 27 shots to seal the victory for Switzerland.
The Swiss managed to strike first midway through the opening period, with Flavio Schmutz scoring on the power play. Sandro Zangger added another a minute and a half into the second period. The Czech offence woke up a few minutes after Zannger’s goal, when Ondrej Slovacek scored to cut the lead to one goal, but the team could not produce another until Jan Hudecek scored late in the third period.
Switzerland will face Denmark and the Czechs will take on Latvia on Friday. The three teams which finish first, second and third at the end of this round play again at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship, while the fourth-place team is relegated to Division I Group A.
Click here for photos, scores, and stats.
ADAM STEISS]]>on topU182012 WM18on top19 Switzerland08 Germany06 Finland04 Czech Republicon lefton leftThu, 19 Apr 2012 18:00:00 +0200Slovak U18 backhttp://www.iihf.com/competition/292/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=6675
Host nation sweeps through Division I Group AThe Slovak team fulfilled its expectations and will be back among the elite nations for the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship that will be staged in the brand-new Olympic venues in Sochi, Russia.

The scores in the first four games at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship Division I Group A on home ice: 5-0 vs. Italy, 4-1 vs. Japan, 8-2 vs. Slovenia, 4-1 vs. France.

The tournament win was still not sealed as Norway – the other team relegated from the top division last year – could have overtaken Slovakia in the last round with a regulation time win.

However, this scenario proved to be a short-lived dream for the Norwegians.

Cheered on by 3,350 fans in Piestany, the Slovaks opened the gap early in the game. After 16 minutes of play it was already 3-0 thanks to goals from Lubomir Dinda, Martin Reway and Marko Dano. In the end Dano scored a hat trick in a 9-2 victory that made Slovakia receive the gold medals while Norway had to settle for silver.

Dano was the offensively most successful players, leading the stats both in points (13) and goals (10) before a couple of teammates as well as Norway’s Endre Medby (8+1=9 points) and Japan’s Yuri Terrao (5+4=9).

The teams behind Slovakia were close together. Three teams had two wins in five games on their accounts, but the bronze medal went to Italy, which lost two of its three games after a tied regulation-time score.

Japan had bad luck ending up in last place with four points and getting relegated to Division I Group B next years.